Federal investigators say a loose dog on the runway may have triggered the sequence of events that led to Monday’s fatal plane crash near Nanwalek, south of Homer.
The crash killed 48-year-old Homer pilot Daniel Bunker and 37-year-old Anchorage resident Jenny Irene Miller. A third passenger, an unidentified man, survived with serious injuries and was medevaced to an Anchorage hospital, according to Alaska State Troopers.
The Cessna 207, operated by Smokey Bay Air, went down just before 2 p.m. Monday while approaching the Nanwalek airstrip on a scheduled commercial flight from Homer.
Clint Johnson, Chief of the Alaska regional office of the National Transportation Safety Board, told KTUU that witnesses reported a dog was loose on the runway at the time of the crash.
“What we understand now is there may have been an animal, namely a dog, that was on the runway,” Johnson said. “The pilot initiated a go-around. There was also another company airplane behind—he was talking to that airplane at the same time—said he was initiating the go-around, made a right turn away from the runway, pretty steep climb, and unfortunately, there was a loss of control.”
Johnson said the aircraft likely experienced an aerodynamic stall during that steep maneuver—when a plane’s wings exceed their angle of attack and stop producing lift.
The plane crashed on the beach, close to the water’s edge. Rescuers were able to move the wreckage slightly inland, but it remains in the tide zone. Johnson said the NTSB is working with Smokey Bay Air and its insurance company to coordinate the recovery.
“We’re in the recovery process right now to get that airplane back to Homer and eventually to Anchorage, where we’re going to lay it out and make sure there were no mechanical issues that led to this loss of control,” he said. “We don’t want to draw any conclusions at this point. We’re still in the very formative stages.”
The NTSB is continuing to interview witnesses and encourages anyone with information to email witness@ntsb.gov.
The crash has deeply impacted both the Homer and Nanwalek communities. Bunker, a former paraprofessional at Paul Banks Elementary School in Homer, was remembered as a kind and passionate man who loved flying and working with children. Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland said Bunker was “loved by a lot of people in Homer” and will be “sorely missed.”